From Series Such As ‘Inhumans’ And ‘The Tick’, Here Are The 11 Worst Live-Action Superhero TV Finales Ranked
A Superhero TV show’s legacy is only as good as its ending because the final scene has a long-lasting impression on fans. Unfortunately, most shows end in a cliffhanger because they get cancelled before reaching their natural conclusion, and Superhero TV series aren’t immune.
However, even without cancellation, it is difficult to find a universally acceptable ending to a TV series, especially after fans get attached to different characters and build differing expectations of how each storyline should end. That doesn’t mean that some TV show endings aren’t outright bungled, though. From long-running shows like Smallville to prematurely cancelled gems like Helstrom, here is a look at the superhero TV shows with the most disappointing endings.
11. Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (1993-1997) — Warner Bros. Television
ABC’s Lois & Clark was an upgrade on Superboy, giving more focus on Clark Kent’s relationship with Lois, while exploring their early careers in journalism as Clark Kent’s superhero activities become part of their daily lives. Although it didn’t have the best of ratings in its final years, the show had gained a sizeable following as Dean Cain quickly became the face of Superman. However, ABC decided to cancel the show after the fourth season, catching the creators off guard. As a result, the final scene of the fourth, which is a cliffhanger, became the show’s awkward ending.
In the scene, Lois and Clark find a mysterious baby in Clark’s old bassinet with a note telling them it was their baby. The couple introduces the mysterious baby to their parents without figuring out where it came from and why it was given to them.
The ending is silly, to say the least, because after four seasons of building Clark and Lois as a couple, the show reveals that Clark can’t have children biologically, then out of nowhere, a baby is dropped on their doorstep. The creators later clarified in an interview that the baby is Kryptonian royalty, but that is never seen in the show.
RELATED: Top 10 Important X-Men Characters We Want To See Join The MCU After ‘Avengers: Doomsday’
10. Helstrom (2020) — Marvel Television/ABC Studios
Described as the son of Satan in the comics, Daimon Helstrom (Tom Austen) is a fan favorite superhero in the Marvel comics, which is why anticipation was high when Hulu picked up the character for a TV show. Unfortunately, Hulu chose to go absolutely dark with the series with zero connection to the MCU.
Helstrom follows Daimon and his sister Ana (Sydney Lemmon) as they use their power and knowledge of the supernatural to rid the world of evil while also trying to stop the most evil of demons from being born, as it could totally destroy humanity.
After a dreary nine episodes, the show eventually introduced Daimon and Ana’s evil father, uniting him with the dreaded evil baby Lily, essentially unleashing on the world the very evil that the siblings fought to stop for the whole season. The show was then cancelled, which means fans never got to see what the siblings could do to stop ‘Papa’ from destroying humanity, closing the show on a dark note with zero closure.
9. Luke Cage (2016-2018) — Netflix
RELATED: Top 5 Potential Directions The MCU Could Go Post-‘Avengers: Secret Wars’ According To Fans
Luke Cage got off to a great start among the rest of Marvel’s Defenders shows that were released on Netflix. The show follows Luke Cage (Mike Colter), a superhero with unbreakable skin and superhuman strength, as he fights crime in Harlem. Colter’s passionate performance, coupled with the show’s crossovers with the likes of Jessica Jones, earned it a sizeable following; leading to its renewal for a second season.
Unfortunately, the creators chose the most disappointing endings possible for the show. Luke Cage Season 2 ends with Cage as the leader of Harlem’s Paradise, the equivalent of the city’s crime capital. The ending is both controversial and convoluted, seeing as the hero now becomes the leader of the very network he had been fighting for two seasons.
8. The Tick (2016-2019) — Amazon Studios
The Tick was an expensive investment that Amazon had to cancel after two seasons, despite the show gaining a cult following as one of the platform’s best original superhero TV shows. Played by Peter Serafinowicz, the titular hero teams up with a local accountant named Arthur (Griffin Newman) to fight crime in their city, while also uncovering a bigger conspiracy led by the boss of the city’s organized crime network.
The first season was actually a better conclusion for the series than the second season, which seemed totally unplanned. After successfully capturing the villain in the first season, the second one introduces a host of subplots including superhero arcs for two more main characters, which are never resolved.
With almost every primary character’s storyline ending in a cliffhanger, the show’s ending leaves everything open for another season, which never came.
7. She-Hulk: Attorney At Law (2022) — Marvel Studios
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law was one of the most anticipated MCU projects going into 2022, and while most of the show was serviceable, the finale proved extremely divisive, with some fans seeing its writing as lazy. The show follows Hulk’s (Mark Ruffalo) cousin, Jennifer Walters (Tatiana Maslany), after she gains superpowers.
For most of the show, Jen tries to prove that she is a superhero in her own right, independent of her cousin’s legacy, while also pursuing her career as a lawyer. The penultimate episode was especially great as it reunited She-Hulk with Daredevil.
However, the finale bungled everything, making a total joke out of She-Hulk’s perceived archnemesis, who had been built into a seemingly dark and dangerous group of powerful foes for most of the show. Jen also breaks the fourth wall in the episode, busting into a Marvel writers’ room to complain about the show’s writing. Some fans like the breaking of the fourth wall, but the final episode fell short of expectations, as the writers didn’t seem to have a serious MCU-style conclusion for the show.
6. Alphas (2011-2012) — Universal Cable Productions
Alphas is another original Superhero TV show that was cancelled, leading to a rushed ending that didn’t resolve the main storyline. It follows a government-sanctioned team of superheroes who are tasked with uncovering crimes and threats caused by their fellow superpowered individuals.
While the first season largely focused on the team as they improved their control of their superpowers, the second season turned into an all-out X-Men-style superhero vs. non-superhero saga, introducing a number of explosive storylines — most of which weren’t even resolved by the end of the season — that even include a huge government conspiracy. Upon cancellation, the team is in disarray, and the fate of their leader is unknown.
5. Secret Invasion (2023) — Marvel Studios
Samuel L. Jackson’s nostalgic return to the MCU as Nick Fury, coupled with the promise of finally explaining the mystery around the Skrulls, led to lots of hype around Secret Invasion. In the show, Nick Fury and Talos (Ben Mendelsohn) attempt to stop a group of rogue Skrulls (an alien race of shapeshifters who found refuge on Earth) planning on taking over Earth.
However, the show was underwhelming from the start, with the revelation that anyone in the show, including Fury himself, could be a Skrull impersonator.
Secret Invasion then seemingly switches the narrative midway, dropping the Skrulls impersonation arc to go from a spy thriller into an all-out action drama. The doesn’t offer a real conclusion either as it belittles most of the core plot threads, plunges Earth into a civil war, and doesn’t conclude the show’s main conflict.
4. The Flash (2014-2023) — Warner Bros. Television
The Flash was the shining light of The CW’s Arrowverse after its premiere broke records; becoming the channel’s most-watched telecast with more than 6.8 million live viewers. The show’s highlight was its well-grounded origin story featuring a passionate performance from Grant Gustin as the titular superhero. A strong ensemble cast around Barry Allen, especially the excellent support from Candice Patton as Iris West, was the show’s anchor in the early days.
The show also had an excellent gallery of villains, which grew with each season, making The Flash’s missions bigger, accompanied by emotional and physical growth in the main characters. However, creativity dwindled as the show started recycling villains and storylines towards the end.
The finale was especially disappointing when it essentially turned the main character into a sidekick. The episode also turns nine seasons of Barry’s efforts into a joke by having him battle the very key villains he already defeated.
3. Moon Knight (2022) — Marvel Studios
RELATED:10 Forgotten MCU Plot Threads That Disney Should Revisit Immediately
Oscar Isaac’s performance as both Marc Spector and Steven Grant was a masterclass in double role acting, making the MCU’s Moon Knight one of the most interesting additions to the franchise, despite its otherwise confusing plot.
In the show, Marc Spector is a man with dissociative identity disorder whose two alter egos, Moon Knight (a Jewish-American mercenary) and Steven Grant/Mr. Knight (a gift shop employee with in-depth knowledge of ancient Egypt), clash when he gets possessed by the ancient Egyptian moon god, Khonshu.
In the finale, after the two variants reconcile, the show introduces Jake Lockley, a deadlier alter ego of Marc Spector, who seems interested in continuing to work for Spector’s bloodthirsty master. While a second season hasn’t been ruled out, no official plans have been mentioned since the first season wrapped in May 2022, meaning Jake Lockley’s evil grin as he shoots Arthur Harrow is the last impression that fans have of the show.
2. Inhumans (2017) — Marvel Television/ABC Studios
Inhumans is arguably the MCU’s worst project, mostly because the show was mishandled from the very beginning. It follows the royal family of a secretive race called the Inhumans, who dwell in Attilan, a city situated on the moon. A civil war ensues when the king’s brother, Maximus (Iwan Rheon), attempts a coup.
While the idea was great, the show’s script is bungled because the main character, King Black Bolt (Anson Mount), whose superpower is a voice that devastates everything in its path, doesn’t speak throughout the show.
Despite Anson Mount’s talent, there was little he could do with a character that doesn’t speak, reducing him to a comical robot. Bolt’s sister, Medusa (Serinda Swan), who could have redeemed the show, is also reduced to a spectator; her superpowers are removed early in the show when Maximus shaves her head. The finale then caps the mess in an anticlimactic whimper where Bolt only uses his touted “superpower” once, but doesn’t really save anyone as the city is destroyed, forcing the royal family to flee to Earth.
1. Smallville (2001-2011) — Warner Bros. Television
‘No tights, no flights’ was the principle that held back young Clark Kent (Tom Welling) from taking on his full Superman persona in Smallville. For 10 seasons, the show prepared the character to wear the Superman suit. The creators actually did a great job of humanizing Superman in his early years, presenting him as a regular young man whose love for humanity comes before everything else. Unfortunately, despite running for a whole decade, Superman’s flight in the show was underwhelming.
After delivering a classy introduction of the suit accompanied by a message from Clark’s Kryptonian parents, the show absolutely bungled the Superman reveal in the finale. All that was shown of Superman in action is a distant CGI shot of him saving Air Force 1. The show then closes with a shot of Kent ripping open his shirt to show his Superman suit for a few seconds, and that is all the Superman that fans got to see.
NEXT: From Maxima To Doomsday, Here’s 10 DC Villains Whom We Might See In A ‘Superman’ Sequel
